BT offers communities the chance to ‘adopt’ their local phone box for £1

BT is offering communities the rare opportunity to adopt their local payphone kiosk for just £1 to transform unused kiosks into something inspirational for their local community.

With numerous payphone kiosks, including 180 traditional red boxes available to be adopted across Northern Ireland, BT is encouraging community groups to seize the opportunity to do something wonderful with these phone boxes that often have little or no usage.

BT will continue to cover the electricity to the adopted kiosks, which can be turned into any exciting new ventures to benefit local communities – such as housings for defibrillators, mini-libraries, coffee shops, miniature art museums, sweet shops and information centres. One payphone in Devon was even turned into the “world’s smallest nightclub”.

Commenting on the launch, Paul Murnaghan, BT’s Enterprise division director in Northern Ireland, said: “We are delighted to be announcing the launch of the Adopt a Kiosk Scheme in Northern Ireland.

“What better way to make use of our existing kiosks than to offer communities the chance to ‘adopt’ them in their local area and give them a new lease of life?

“It’s simple to apply and individual assessments will take place to confirm if the adoption is possible and whether there is availability in a specific area. The opportunities are endless and since we launched the scheme in other parts of the UK, more than 5,500 communities have seized the chance to do something great with their local phone box.”

Communities can adopt a kiosk in Northern Ireland if they are a recognised local authority, such as a district or borough council, a parish, or town hall. Boxes can also be adopted by registered charities or by individuals who have a payphone on their own land.

With a large number of people in Northern Ireland now using a mobile phone, usage of payphones has declined by around 90 per cent in the past decade. The Adopt a Kiosk scheme allows communities to find new uses for kiosks to benefit local people.